Hoisting apparatus



(No Model.)

0. W. HUNT. HOISTING APPARATUS.

Patentd June 3,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

CHARLES WV. HUNT, OF WVEST NEW BRIGHTON, NEW YORK.

HOISTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,450, dated June 3, 1890.

Application filed February 10, 1890. Serial No. 389,816. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES IV. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vest New Brighton, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Hoisting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Railway-cars and platforms have in many instances been provided with hoisting-cranes adapted to moving cars or locomotives that may run off the track and to raising heavy bodies upon cars or trucks for transportation; but when such heavy articles are being handled there is a risk of upsetting the car upon which the crane is mounted, and the same difficulty arises when the crane is upon a float or vessel, because the article being raised is not counterpoised and the weight becomes excessive at one side of the float or vessel. In some instances the weight raised has been counterpoised to a certain extent by a sus pended weight and in other instances acounterpoise has been provided upon the deck or float to be moved by hand, as occasion requires. v

The object of the present invention is to counterpoise the weight automatically by the boiler, engine, or other parts of the hoisting apparatus, changing their position in relation to the support by which the weight is sustained, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved hoisting apparatus. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the action of the automatic counterpoise; and Fig. 3 is a section through the platform, segmental bearers, and base of crane at right angles to Fig. 1.

A represents a platform, deck, or other sup- I port, and in the drawings this platform is shown as supported by wheels B upon a track 0.

D represents the arm of the crane, which is to be of suitable or desired size or character, and E is the fall or hoisting device, and G is the counter-poise.

H, Fig. 2, represents a support, either actual or imaginary. If said support is in the form of a frame extending up to the pivot or center of motion I, the crane can be suspended from such axis I by rods or chains K, and the base of the crane can be suspended by the rods or chains M; hence when the winch Nis rotated by hand or otherwise to raise any heavy weight with which the fall E is connected the crane will swing upon the pivot I until the center of gravity of the crane weight to be lifted the outer end of the crane I swings downwardly until the counterpoise-G is at a sufficient distance from the vertical line to form a resistance for the winch inlifting the weight, and thereafter the weight can be lifted bodily to any desired height, according to the elevation of the crane, and in all instances the bearing of the weight will come centrally over the platform or deck A, and there will be no tendency to upset the car or float.

' In many instances the erection of a frame H above the crane is detrimental, because it increases the height of the apparatus and the supporting-frame has to be of sufficient strength to adapt the parts to the weight that is to be lifted. I therefore prefer. to adopt the construction represented in Fig. 1, in which the platform or base L of the crane rests upon segmental bearers P, supported by similar bearers Q upon the platform or deck A, and it will be apparent that these segmental bearers, being described as arcs of circles from the imaginary axis 1, cause the platform and the crane to swing under the action of the weight that is raised in exactly the same manner as would be the case if these parts were suspended from the axis I, and in the construction of steam hoistingcranes it is preferable to employ the boiler or a water-tank as the counterpoise G, and when the hoisting-engine is either upon the boiler or connected directly therewith, as common in portable boilers, the counterpoise is more effective on account of being farther from the vertical line beneath the axis of 1notion; and it is to be understood that the crane itself, the boiler, the engine, and hoisting devices and the counterpoise are to be of any desired character, those which are represented in the drawings being only illustrative, and it is also to be understood that the segmental bearers P and Q may be constructed in any desired manner. I, however, prefer to make use of interlocking segmental rails, as shown in the drawings, so as to prevent the parts becoming separated during the motion to which they may be subjected, and, if desired, anti-friction rollers 0r supports may be made use of upon the segmental bearer Q, and upon which the segmental bearer P rests, and it is desirable in most instances to introduce a turn-table R between the segmental bearer Q and the platform A, in order that the crane and the weight that may be raised thereby maybe turned around into any desired position in relation to the truck or track by which the crane is supported.

It will be understood that as the outer end of the crane describes an arc of a circle downwardly from the real or imaginary axis I as the Weight is lifted it is necessary to have the outer end of the crane rather higher for the same extent of lift than the ordinary crane.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the crane and the platform for supporting the same, of the counterpoise rigidly attached to the platform of the crane, and a support for the weight of the crane, the counterpoise, and the article to be lifted, upon which support the parts move together around a common axis of motion as the outer end of the crane descends, and the counterpoise is moved automatically farther from a vertical line through the axis to balance the weight lifted, substantially as set forth,

2. The combination, with the crane, its base, and counterpoise, of segmental bearers forming supports for the crane, the base, and the counterpoise, and upon which segmental bearers the crane and the parts connected with it move as the weight is lifted, in order that the counterpoise may automatically balance the weight lifted, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the crane, its base, and a counterpoise supported by the base, of segmental bearers beneath the base, and upon which the crane and the counterpoise rest and can move as the weight is lifted to cause the counterpoise to automatically balance the weight lifted, a platform and truck for supporting the frame, and a turn-table intervening between the platform and the segmental bearers, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this th day of January,

CHAS. W. HUNT. XVitnesses:

Gno. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. Mom. 

